1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to seats of a reclining type, and more particularly to the reclining seats which are suited for a rear seat of a passenger motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In order to clarify the task of the present invention, one conventional reclining seat will be outlined with reference to FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings, which is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Second Provisional Publication No. 57-11580.
As is seen from FIG. 4, the reclining seat disclosed by the publication has not only a seatback tilting function wherein the seatback is tiltable but also a seatback flexing function wherein the seatback can flex.
The reclining seat comprises a seat cushion 15 which is mounted through a seat slide device 20 on a vehicle floor 9. The seat cushion 15 carries at its rear part a seatback 11 which comprises an upper back part 21 and a lower back part 22. The upper and lower back parts 21 and 22 are pivotally connected through an upper hinge device 23, and the lower back part 22 and the seat cushion 15 are pivotally connected through a lower hinge device 24. The upper back part 21 has an elongate plate 25 secured to one side thereof. The plate 25 is formed with an elongate opening 26 with which a guide pin 29 held by a bracket 28 is slidably engaged. The bracket 28 is secured to a body panel 27 of an associated vehicle.
When, due to operation of the seat slide device 20, the seat cushion 15 is moved forward to a front position illustrated by a phantom line in the drawing, the lower hinge device 24 is moved forward pulling the lower portion of the lower back part 22 in the same direction. During this movement, the upper back part 21 is forced to move downward along the body panel 27 due to the slidable engagement between the elongate opening 26 and the guide pin 29. Thus, finally, the seatback 11 assumes its reclined position with a shallow angle defined between the upper and lower back parts 21 and 22, as is illustrated by a phantom line.
However, due to its inherency in construction, the conventional reclining seat has the following drawback.
That is, in order to obtain a reclining condition of the seat, the seat cushion 15 is forced to move forward to the front position in such a manner as mentioned hereinabove. However, as is easily understood from the drawing, the forward movement of the seat cushion 15 narrows the seat occupant foot space "S" defined before the seat. This mean that the reclining seats of this type are not suited for a seat, such as a rear seat of a passenger motor vehicle, which is to be mounted in a limited rear space of the vehicle cabin.